Ohioans in U.S. House ambivalent on altering redistricting

Saturday

Apr 16, 2016 at 12:01 AMApr 17, 2016 at 10:06 AM

WASHINGTON - Ohio Gov. John Kasich argues that the current process for redrawing congressional districts should be relegated to the "dustbin of history." That's all well and good, say members of the U.S. House, but the details of such a proposal are important.

Jessica Wehrman, The Columbus Dispatch

WASHINGTON — Ohio Gov. John Kasich argues that the current process for redrawing congressional districts should be relegated to the “ dustbin of history.”

That’s all well and good, say members of the U.S. House, but the details of such a proposal are important.

“It’s time to take a look at it, but it’s super-complicated, and we have to make sure it’s thought through,” said Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington. “Because I’d rather make sure what we do has intended consequences and not unintended consequences.”

Stivers survived redistricting in the 2012 elections. He wanted to keep two areas in his new district: Union County and Downtown; both were places he knew well, and he thought he was fluent in their major issues.

He got neither. Map drawers created a Columbus-focused district with a large number of minority residents, one designed for Democrats, and Democrat Joyce Beatty won the seat. Union County went to the redrawn district of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana.

Stivers’ reshaped district stretches from west of Columbus to southeastern Ohio down to Athens, including all or parts of 12 counties. It also went from a slightly Democratic area to one that is strongly Republican.

“I got nothing I asked for,” he said. “But I did get a better district, even though I didn’t ask for a more Republican district.”

Beatty wouldn't comment on what she thinks about changing the way congressional districts are drawn.

Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, said he has talked with Kasich about the process, and they share similar concerns.

Kasich, he said, “hasn’t communicated a prescriptive plan on it. He’s communicated the idea that the process needs to be more balanced. I wouldn’t disagree with that.”

Tiberi said there’s no silver bullet that will make campaigns and districts fair and take the partisanship out of the process.

In fact, he said, some states that have tried to achieve that have instead seen results that are even more political. Tiberi said that’s the case in Arizona, which has some of the most liberal and conservative districts in the nation.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, found himself in an even trickier situation in 2012: Both he and then-Rep. Steve Austria found their districts largely combined because Ohio lost two House seats. Austria, facing a likely GOP primary against a fellow congressman, decided not to seek re-election.

The same situation of largely merged districts arose in northern Ohio, where Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, found herself matched against then-Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Cleveland, whom she beat in a primary.

Four years later, Turner acknowledges that the redistricting process “certainly was tumultuous,” but he says he’s hesitant to weigh in on Kasich’s comments until he sees something more definitive.

But he does have one firm opinion: Communities should be kept whole.

“The problem with gerrymandering either for political gain or enhanced competitiveness is you end up dividing a community,” he said.

Turner said doing this confuses voters, who don’t know who represents them. It’s better, he said, to have a lawmaker represent one community regardless of whether its residents have like-minded political views.

“If you end up with communities like Dayton or Cincinnati or even the northern counties being divided, then you weaken their voice,” he said. “They don’t have one representative to go to and hold accountable for their performance.”